However, the most recently inked lease, signed by Fibre-Craft Materials Corp. for 169,800 sf, was far more substantial in size than the partnership was anticipating. "There has been a great deal of interest in the project because of the intrigue of a new property, but it has been somewhat slow on leasing front," Barry Missner, principal of the Missner Group, tells GlobeSt.com. "But because of the size of the lease, the project is already half full. We were expecting by smaller tenant, and we were surprised when we got a bigger user."

The reason, he found, was that the Niles industrial market lacks comparable inventory. "You don't have to lease the as much space for the same warehousing facility," he says, "and we believe we can sell that and some image. This building has image." For the building's efficiency and image, users will dish out a 30% premium in rent—a small price to pay for replacing the antiquated facility that formerly occupied the site, says Missner.

The building had been on the market for a couple years, and through price reduction it had become more attractive for reuse. "Developers like us saw this like a plausible redevelopment," he says. "Through the course of them being unsuccessful to sell, they were willing to reduce purchase price." After buying the property for $7 million, the company soon began demolition of the existing 1950s warehouse and water tower.